Holyoke Soldiers' Home thrives after nearly losing outpatient clinic

The Republican file photoAfter nearly losing it outpatient medical clinic to state budget cuts last year, the Holyoke Soldiers' Home has thrived with steady community support and help from local charities.

HOLYOKE - After nearly losing its outpatient medical clinic a year ago amid the state budget crisis, the Holyoke Soldiers’ Home has survived - and thrived - with steady community support and help from local charities.

On Veterans Day, the Air National Guard’s 104th Fighter Wing from Barnes Municipal Airport presented the Soldiers’ Home with a $12,000 check gleaned from the proceeds of a fund-raising drive.

A spokesman for the Westfield airport said the money will go to boost the quality-of-life of the 283 veterans who live atop a hill in a home where the infrastructure was threatened by a $900,000 funding cut by Gov. Deval L. Patrick.

The cut prompted a deafening uproar by veterans and advocates who held rallies from Beacon Hill to Western Massachusetts and ultimately pressured Patrick to restore the funding for the outpatient clinic that treats 2,200 veterans annually.

104th Fighter Wing Executive Officer Maj. Matthew T. Mutti said the unit’s fire department adopted the soldiers’ home about five years ago to be its annual recipient for proceeds from a golf tournament and “boot collections” during its popular International Air Show.

Mutti said the relationship has generated more than $42,000 for the soldiers’ home, which became significantly more relevant this year given the close call the agency weathered.

“Over the past five years, the fire department has chosen the soldiers’ home as a charity because they were struggling to fund programs and services,” Mutti said. “We have a personal attachment to the soldiers’ home, because as veterans we have a bond with former veterans and we want these services to stay locally based.”

The money will go to purchase new televisions and telephones for the residents, and finance trips to keep them engaged in the community, Mutti said. The funds will also support on-site activities, including gardening and painting, that fall outside the home’s annual operating budget.

“We are lucky to have organizations that will step forward and address the needs of our veterans here,” said Soldiers Home acting Superintendent Michael J. Pasterczyk.

“This helps to ensure that the time spent with us by our veterans is comfortable and full of activity,” he added.

State Sen. Michael R. Knapik, R-Westfield, said donations from groups such as the 104th Fighter Wing are “important and commendable.”

“The Soldiers’ Home and its veterans rely on the good stewards in our communities for support,” said Knapik, noting that available state funding may result in a level-funded budget in fiscal 2012 at the Holyoke facility.

When he announced the proposed cut in January, Patrick said the outpatient clinic in Holyoke was duplicative and veterans had access to similar care at Holyoke Medical Center and the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Northampton.

But supporters of the home said the service on its face does not tell the whole story of what the clinic provides to veterans. The clinic is a single-visit facility for medical care, tests and prescriptions, and serves as a social meeting place for combat veterans, they said.